OATS
These versatile grains have been a dietary staple since the Palaeolithic period - research shows they protect your heart and aid weight management management, too
Words Niamh Leonard-Bedwell.
KITCHEN CUPBOARD HERO
As the saying goes: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ which explains why we’re still chowing down on porridge for brekkie 32,000 years after our ancestors first put oats to culinary use. The earliest known human consumption of the grain was determined after researchers from the University of Florence were able to identify traces of it on an ancient grinding tool from southern Italy. It’s believed that in the Palaeolithic period, people made their own oat flour which was boiled or baked into flatbread.